Laboratory
by Silent Thereal
Summary: Megaman X: Command Mission Marino and Cinnamon go on a mission and Marino reflects on the events of the war against Epsilon and her relationship with the younger reploid. Oneshot, R


Disclaimer Nazis: blah, blah, blah, stealing, blah, blah, copyrighted, blah, blah, execution, blah, blah, blah, doesn't own Megaman, blah, blah, wishes they do.

How... original.

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"Marino! Watashi oitsuku nai!" the young reploid called out.

"Alright, I'll wait here," the person called Marino replied, "and Cinnamon, just because my frame and combat data are japanese doesn't mean I know what that means."

The young girl exhaled loudly and ran towards her friend. She had known that, as a thief and assassin, Marino was fast, but she had not expected her to have so much stamina. After a couple of minutes she reached her. Marino was sitting on a rock at the edge of the path looking at the cyber-plants around her. Cinnamon plopped down beside her and panted.

"I should have equipped," she gasped, "some speed boosting force metal. This place is so much harder to move around in with all these micro-organisms floating around unchecked."

The thief just nodded and continued to stare at the strange creations around her. The looked, from a distance, like ordinary trees and bushes. But up close one realized that they were, in fact, entirely synthetic. These biomechanical wonders were humanities answer to the environmental crisis. They acted and functioned exactly like real plants, but they did their job better and were harder to kill.

_Just like reploids. _She thought. _Did humans make us to be better then them? No, that's a stupid question. They did. But no matter how physically perfect, no matter how quick we can think, we are still not human. At least, that's how I used to look at it._

Marino interrupted her little monologue to look over at Cinnamon. The little reploid had gotten bored and was scratching pictures onto the floor of the tunnel. Marino smiled to herself. _Maybe, we are more like humans then we think. We can become Mavericks, yet, _she looked out at the plants again, _the human mind is fragile indeed._

"Marino!" the little girl screamed almost literally in her ear, "Can't we get on with the mission?"

"Huh? Oh, right. Of course, let's go, Cinnamon."

The two walked on in the stuffy catacombs. Before, when Giga City had been run by the human government this area had been used for research on cyber-plants. Even after that, however, Professor Gaudile had been using it as his laboratory. But now, with now one managing the place, it had fallen into disrepair. Little micro-organisms and and nanobots were everywhere, their reproduction left unchecked.

Eventually the two reploids started to notice that something was amiss. Stopping for a moment Marino looked around frantically.

"Shit!" she exclaimed, "we're lost!"

"You're right," Cinnamon replied, "I don't remember this part of the lab at all. I don't think the professor ever brought me hear."

The two girls decided to take a rest and think about what to do next. They were supposed to be going into the older forest and get some equipment for Gaudile. The route had been clearly mapped out, but the entire layout of even Gaudile's main facilities had been altered somehow. Feeling despair creep up on them the two slumped down against a wall.

"Well this has been a totally stupid waste of time," Marino complained, "we're never gonna find it like this."

"Mmm..." her friend said, "I'm tiiiiired."

The young reploid yawned and leaned over onto Marino's shoulder. As the thief watched her friend sleep her mind was racing about their predicament. They could, at any time, use their remote locating device to transport back to the resistance base. But then this entire trip would have indeed been a waste of time. Marino weighed the facts; one the one hand she and Cinnamon were exhausted, but on the other the materials they were after would really help the resistance. She grinned. It had always seemed amusing, to her, that they had formed a resistance to a rebellion. Why didn't they just call themselves servants of the government? That was who they were fighting for, after all. At least, that was who she thought they were working for. There had been recent events, that made her wonder.

_Epsilon. You told me that you wanted our freedom. Yet, you fight with Mavericks, and you yourself are fighting off this disease of the mind. _ She looked at the silent reploid on her shoulder. _Even... even she is not immune. All reploids can become Mavericks. She is so much like a real girl, yet she has a sad fate upon her. I wish I could help her escape it._

She grimaced at these thoughts. A real girl. indeed, the Professor had made her much more real then Marino would have liked. Gaudile had been trying to create the daughter he had never had, and as such had made her all too human. The memories Marino had of explaining these things made her cringe.

---

_"Marino-san, there are these strange things happening to my structure. Am I being infected by a virus?"_

_"A, virus? Let me see, Cinna-kun._

_EEP!"_

_"What is it nee-san?"_

_"Um, that's not a virus, well it, uhm... you see..."_

_"Perhaps if I showed you you could better explain, I would like a detailed analysis of all the different happenings."_

_"No, no, no, that's ok. Please Cinnamon, it's ok. You don't have to show me. I'll, try to explain."_

---

Marino sighed. Cinnamon still hadn't gotten it, and it had taken all of Marino's negotiating power to get her to not ask someone else. Luckily Nana had been nearby and was able to help calm the girl. Still, she wondered if Gaudile had programmed in the entire thing. It would be very difficult explaining the further processes of puberty to this innocent reploid. She had already shown that she was capable of more then just growth of her overall size. How long would it be until she was off chasing after Megaman and the rest?

This made her giggle. She could not forget her own desires, and the thought of Cinnamon going boy crazy was just too ironical. _My Cinnamon, _she thought, _no matter who you love, I will always be here to protect you. _She looked at the communicator. _Might as well go back, I'll wait until she wakes up._

_----------------------_

Woot, a chapter that wasn't less then five hundred words! XD Anyway, if you're not familiar with the characters it's the new X game; Command Mission. See what you think. Uh, and if you're as incompetent as I can be, the little part towards the end with the italicized dialogue is a flashback, normal italics are thought.


End file.
